The decline of its second-biggest airline and a nationwide falloff in travel continues to take a toll on business at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, the latest statistics show.
The region's busiest airport handled 1.6 million passengers in April, down 13.5 percent compared with the same period last year. The report shows that BWI is faring slightly worse than airports nationwide, which saw an average 12.9 percent decline in April passenger traffic.
Industry analysts credit the drop in business to US Airways' decision to eliminate more than half its flights from BWI as part of a restructuring plan aimed at saving the troubled airline from bankruptcy.
US Airways, based in Arlington, Va., handled 160,516 passengers at BWI in April, down about 64 percent from the 443,018 passengers it handled during the same period in 2001.
But US Airways is only partly to blame, analysts said.
The airport also continues to suffer from long lines at security checkpoints, prompting some passengers to avoid air travel.
"They suffer acutely from being guinea pigs for the [Transportation Security Administration]," said Morten Beyer, an Arlington, Va., airline consultant.
The administration took over security screening at BWI this year and is using the airport as a testing ground for new federal security procedures.
BWI spokesman John White said the situation will improve as new federal security agents complete their training.
"I guess it's fair to say the process is a little slower at the moment, but there's also training going on," White said.
No flights have been delayed as a result of long lines at security checkpoints, White said.
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines, the airport's biggest carrier, has struggled to attract new passengers despite adding service to BWI since April last year.
The low-fare airline flew 690,301 passengers in April, down less than 1 percent from the comparable period a year ago. That's a significant change from the double-digit increases the airline reported during much of the past several years.
Some competing airlines continue to pick up passengers and routes abandoned when US Airways began to draw back from BWI.
American Airlines carried 120,950 passengers in April, up 54 percent compared with April 2001. And Delta Air Lines flew 115,900 passengers, a 14.3 percent increase.
AirTran Airways, a growing budget airline that began serving BWI in December, handled 77,946 passengers, making it the airport's sixth-busiest carrier, with 23 daily flights. The airline expects to build on its current schedule, which includes flights to Atlanta, Boston, Rochester, N.Y., and several Florida destinations.
"I think we're pleasantly surprised with the amount of support we've gotten, especially to the Florida markets," said Tad Hutcheson, a spokesman for the Orlando, Fla.-based airline.